Lyric Opera San Diego

rdf:langString Lyric Opera San Diego

rdf:langString Lyric Opera San Diego was a San Diego, California-based theatre company specializing in Comic opera, Operetta, and Musical theatre. The company was founded in 1979, primarily for the purpose of performing Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. At the time it was known as the San Diego Gilbert and Sullivan Company. The focus of the company changed in 1990 when Leon Natker was hired as General Director; the artistic director was J. Sherwood "Jack" Montgomery. The company was renamed San Diego Comic Opera. The company expanded its repertoire from Gilbert and Sullivan to include musical theatre, song revue programs, comic operas, and operettas. The mission statement was revised: “To provide a regional model for the production of Comic Opera, Operetta, and Musical Theater that develops new generations of artists and audiences by producing a season of fully mounted productions and education programs.” In 2003 the name was changed again, to Lyric Opera San Diego. The company was a member of Opera America, the national organization for opera companies. Driven by their commitment to find and develop new talent, the company helped launch the careers of several young San Diego artists, of whom many are now performing on national and international stages. In summer 2006 Lyric Opera San Diego launched its Summer Academy, created to train middle and high school students in the arts of the stage, including acting, singing, dancing and theatre production. In 2011 the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and it has produced no shows since that time.